2017 NIssan leaf still only gets 107 miles range

[aluminumwelder]

http://www.nissanusa.com/buildyournissan/variant/index?_vipreq=293567371&lang=en&globalModelLineName=leaf&modelLineCode=LEF

I thought 2017 was the year that Nissan leaf was going to get a big range boost?
oh well guess chevy bolt wins this round.

 

[aluminumwelder]

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1107264_2017-nissan-leaf-specs-all-30-kwh-batteries-otherwise-unchanged

end of this article says 2018 might be the year of a 200 mile range leaf, too little to late?

 

[webeleafowners]

I don't know. We did lots of research before we recently purchased our 2016 SV 30KW. We also analyzed our driving from the last 7 or 8 years and even more from the last year and a half since we bought our first EV, a 2015 smart ED. We knew soon after we bought the smart we would eventually replace our last oil burner with a second EV so we started to test drive other EV's as well as analyse what we would need for the next 10 years in cars. We thought the smart would be used for just short runs or around town etc. We ended up using for literally almost everything and never found ourselves in a range anxiety situation. The smart has a shorter range than the 24 KW leaf on paper but I think actually does a little better in real world. 70 miles highway is not a problem and in the city 85 plus is not a big sweat. Really the new smart was a consideration for us but we need our second car to have a back seat this time around. We also drove the Ford focus, VW golf, Tesla S and looked at the Bolt but didn't get inside one. For us the Leaf was the clear winner. If the bolt got the interiour fixed and was priced the same as the leaf, maybe. Not a bad looking car. But paying more for extra range that we will never use just doesn't make sense. And they would have to upgrade the interiour a bit as it looks kinda pontiakish. I also don't trust GM...(we have a history with them) Most people who have Leafs seem to think they are fairly reliable. I don't know, if they had the same fit and finish and the same price tag maybe but I would think there are others out there like us who feel that spending money on additional range just doesn't make sense for them. Others may have no choice and need the range and of course it would make more sense for them.

JMHO

 

[powersurge]

I don't understand the title of this post.. 107 miles of range is very good.... Where is the complaint coming from??

 

[Stanton]

^ ^ ^ What he said!

 

[Durandal]

While my Leaf handles my daily commute just fine, we could not replaced our second car that is currently an ICE car with a Leaf with a mere 107 mile range, as it is used for multiple errands and quite often 150-200 miles are consumed in one day multiple times a week. We would love to get rid of all of our ICE vehicles, but cannot until we have a vehicle that has a range over 200 miles AND a DCFC port. Any Tesla would work great for us, mind you if we could afford one, but we can't.

 

[kieranmullen]

It is good but not good enough in comparison to what people want (versus what they need) and what is available on the market with The Bolt and Model 3 around the corner.

 

[Phatcat73]

When it's bitterly cold, I've seen range drop by 40%. compound that with the natural degradation over the years where the Leaf is the worst in this regard. A 200 mile EV will last much longer and fulfill all the use cases for a user that doesn't need more than a 100 mile leaf today. That 100 mile Leaf in 5 years will be down by 30% range at best and all of a sudden that 100 mile Leaf is no longer suitable.

 

[arnis]

When it's bitterly cold, I've seen range drop by 40%. compound that with the natural degradation over the years where the Leaf is the worst in this regard. A 200 mile EV will last much longer and fulfill all the use cases for a user that doesn't need more than a 100 mile leaf today. That 100 mile Leaf in 5 years will be down by 30% range at best and all of a sudden that 100 mile Leaf is no longer suitable.

That 100 mile Leaf will be down 10% in not hot climate. More in hot climate. But in hot climate heating consumption is very low with heat pump. Range drop usually up to 20% in not freezing weather.
Arnis, 48000 miles in 2½ years, SOH 95%.

While my Leaf handles my daily commute just fine, we could not replaced our second car that is currently an ICE car with a Leaf with a mere 107 mile range, as it is used for multiple errands and quite often 150-200 miles are consumed in one day multiple times a week.

30kWh Leaf can do 200 miles per day IF there are DC-stations available (like where I live). Even my 24kWh Leaf can. Not super comfortable to do nonstop. Two separate trips - no problem.

I still can't sell my ICE (even with DC-stations available) as it has much better cargo capacity (BMW 5-series touring) and is capable of towing nice trailers. Though ICE mileage has dropped to less than few thousands per year :lol:

50kW fast chargers solve 100 mile EV range problem with trips up to 200-250 miles. Trust me

 

[TomT]

My big problem with the Leaf is that it is now becoming very long of tooth in styling, features, electronics and infotainment systems, among other things... It is getting very old and tired by current standards...

I don't understand the title of this post.. 107 miles of range is very good.... Where is the complaint coming from??

 

[LeftieBiker]

My big problem with the Leaf is that it is now becoming very long of tooth in styling, features, electronics and infotainment systems, among other things... It is getting very old and tired by current standards...

As I keep saying, they could have made the 2016 upgrade more palatable by just fixing some easy, cheap issues with the car. High beams, charge limit, steering wheel heater thermostat, 12 volt charging algorithm... But no, they chose to change nothing but the battery capacity, and didn't even make it clear that that was it until 2018. I guess they prefer heavy discounting to actually improving the cars.

 

[palmermd]

do the two clocks match?

 

[cwerdna]

do the two clocks match?

That was fixed with the 2013.

 

[cwerdna]

It is good but not good enough in comparison to what people want (versus what they need) and what is available on the market with The Bolt and Model 3 around the corner.

That and others that have over 107 miles of EPA range like:
BMW i3 w/94 Ahr battery: 114 miles
Hyundai Ioniq EV coming soon: supposedly 124 miles
'17 FFE coming soon: 117 miles (http://insideevs.com/2017-ford-focus-electric-115-miles-of-range-for-29120/)
next VW e-Golf: supposedly 124 miles (fhttp://www.greencarreports.com/news/1107472_2017-volkswagen-e-golf-preview)

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbsSelect&id=38001&id=38431

'17 Leaf pricing looks downright silly for its 107 miles vs. Bolt's 238 miles.

 

[arnis]

Nissan will continue to make money as long as they can. As soon as other manufacturer starts
to take over with number they will add some capacity. This is what they do. Money.
30kWh pack is cheaper.

 

[cwerdna]

Nissan will continue to make money as long as they can. As soon as other manufacturer starts
to take over with number they will add some capacity. This is what they do. Money.
30kWh pack is cheaper.

Take a look at US Leaf sales vs. Tesla at http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/. Unfortunately, Tesla numbers are only estimates since they don't report monthly sales numbers unlike most other major automakers.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

My big problem with the Leaf is that it is now becoming very long of tooth in styling, features, electronics and infotainment systems, among other things... It is getting very old and tired by current standards...

I don't understand the title of this post.. 107 miles of range is very good.... Where is the complaint coming from??

Agreed. 7 model years with the same body style is a long time for even a traditional gasser. I understand that Nissan has tweaked the battery chemistry and the feature sets along the way. But 2017 *should* be the year in which the car gets a make-over.

I tend to side with those who believe this is due largely to the Bolt. Basically, Nissan got caught flat-footed. They want to meet or beat the Bolt, but are not able to do so right now. So the 2017 will (hopefully) be a short run model year just to carry us over to the refreshed 2018. Or so I am hoping.

 

[jjeff]

do the two clocks match?

That was fixed with the 2013.

Not on my '13 both clocks are independent of each other, maybe they corrected it on the SV and SL models??
Speaking of quirks I wonder if Leaf gen2 will finally have a lighted door unlock button and maybe the ability to turn OFF the automatic day/night mirror on Leafs so equipped.....oh and as much as I love the heated steering wheel, how much would it cost to give it a high/low switch so it wouldn't get extremely hot and then cold.....
This is where Nissan could have the edge over the Bolt, I mean with Nissan if they do it right has the opportunity to actually work out some of the remaining quirks on the Leaf, GM will be starting out from scratch and no matter how many focus groups they use, they still can't seem to get it right. Think back to the '11 or even '12 Leafs, they did really improve some things with the '13 model year, too bad they didn't keep going each year instead of resting on their laurels.

 

[Durandal]

do the two clocks match?

That was fixed with the 2013.

Not on my '13 both clocks are independent of each other, maybe they corrected it on the SV and SL models??
Speaking of quirks I wonder if Leaf gen2 will finally have a lighted door unlock button and maybe the ability to turn OFF the automatic day/night mirror on Leafs so equipped.....oh and as much as I love the heated steering wheel, how much would it cost to give it a high/low switch so it wouldn't get extremely hot and then cold.....
This is where Nissan could have the edge over the Bolt, I mean with Nissan if they do it right has the opportunity to actually work out some of the remaining quirks on the Leaf, GM will be starting out from scratch and no matter how many focus groups they use, they still can't seem to get it right. Think back to the '11 or even '12 Leafs, they did really improve some things with the '13 model year, too bad they didn't keep going each year instead of resting on their laurels.

I completely agree on all points. One possibility I've considered is that they likely intended on doing a cyclic refresh in 2017 but it was delayed for some reason. (Likely an acceptable price per kWh on the battery pack.) Even so, all of those little details, they could have been slowly resolving them over time, such as the heated steering wheel getting super hot until it turns off for a long time and gets cold, adding micro heating strips in the front windshield, etc. But $$ ruled out. Oh well. That's the good thing about competition, it pushes everyone forward. With the Bolt, even if people such as myself really don't want a Chevy, it will force the hand of other manufacturers to push forward.

 

[arnis]

Nissan will continue to make money as long as they can. As soon as other manufacturer starts
to take over with number they will add some capacity. This is what they do. Money.
30kWh pack is cheaper.

Take a look at US Leaf sales vs. Tesla at http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/. Unfortunately, Tesla numbers are only estimates since they don't report monthly sales numbers unlike most other major automakers.

Tesla and Nissan are not competitors.